Attorney General Kris Mayes has pushed forward with Phase 2 of Operation Robocall Roundup, this time setting sights on major service providers including Inteliquent, Bandwidth, Lumen, and Peerless. The bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, which spearheads this investigation, has directed these companies to halt the transmission of suspected illegal robocalls, as reported on Thursday by the Arizona Attorney General's Office.
With the U.S. saturated by persistent, and frankly, illegal robocalls, Mayes stated, "People are being bombarded with incessant—and frankly, illegal— robocalls and scam calls, and my office is doing something about it," as stated by the Arizona Attorney General's Office. He lamented the state of affairs, which has gotten to the point where many may hesitate before answering a call. The crackdown affects providers accused of routing hundreds of thousands to millions of these calls, an endeavor that escalates the battle that began with warning letters to 37 smaller voice providers earlier in August.
Data from the Arizona Attorney General's Office outlines the scope of suspected illegal robocall activity connected to these service providers. Since 2019, Inteliquent tops the list with a staggering 9,712 traceback notices, an indicator of a call linked to suspected illegal robocall campaigns. Furthermore, estimates suggest that Inteliquent's network might have been used to make around 450 million fake Amazon or Apple calls and 1.425 billion Social Security or IRS scam calls in the last few years. This extensive network of deceit also snakes through Bandwidth, Peerless, and Lumen, as they too have facilitated the spread of millions of fraudulent calls to Americans.
"People know these robocalls are happening, they are dealing with it everyday, and it's our job as law enforcement to do something about it," Mayes told the public. The responsibility now rests heavier on these larger providers, which have been repeatedly flagged by industry traceback notices but allegedly continue to pass on the illegal traffic. Following the initial phase, results have shown promise: 13 companies were removed from the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database, 19 stopped appearing in traceback results, indicating a halt in routing suspected illegal calls, and, at least four providers terminated high-risk customer accounts known for illicit activities, as noted by the Arizona Attorney General's Office.
The Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force consists of 51 attorneys general and is led by a collective of AGs from North Carolina, Indiana, and Ohio. Their concerted efforts are focused on conducting investigations and taking appropriate legal actions against the culprits behind a significant portion of illegal robocall traffic within the United States. Full details of the notice letters sent to the implicated companies can be found on the Arizona Attorney General's Office website.
